Dr Paul Jackson and Dr Katharina Lederle were invited to undertake the assessment by Newmont North America Region, part of the Newmont Mining Company. The assessment, which took place at the Carlin site – where Newmont has been mining gold since 1965, involved conducting interviews with management, supervisors and equipment operators working in the surface mine areas of the operation, and the development of a fatigue action plan for the site management to implement.

A key feature of the work was the assessment of the site’s compliance against the Newmont Standard on Fatigue Risk Management.

The project is part of a major fatigue management initiative by the Denver, Colorado-based mining company. Clockwork Research has already completed similar assessments at four Newmont operations in Australia, as well as sites in Ghana, Indonesia, New Zealand and Peru.

]]>http://www.clockworkresearch.com/managing-fatigue-in-nevada/feed0Sleep and Sleepiness of Pilots Operating Long-Range Airplane Emergency Medical Missionshttp://www.clockworkresearch.com/aems-pilots-fatigue
http://www.clockworkresearch.com/aems-pilots-fatigue#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 13:47:53 +0000http://www.clockworkresearch.com/?p=3131September 2014, A report of work conducted by Clockwork for Rega, the Swiss Air Ambulance Service, has been published in Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine

Abstract: Airplane emergency medical services (AEMS) operators use fixed-wing airplanes to undertake rapid response, round-the-clock medical transport missions. This paper explores the structure of long-range, multileg AEMS missions and the sleep and sleepiness of the pilots who work them. Methods: During nine long-range AEMS missions, pilots kept a sleep and sleepiness logbook and wore a wrist activity monitor to evaluate the timing of sleep/wake. Results: Missions had a mean duration of 20 h 00 min ± 2 h 39 min, involved two to four flight legs, and were crewed by three or four pilots who rotated between operating and sleeping in curtained-off bunks. The pilots obtained a mean of 15 h 26 min ± 4 h 51 min and 7 h 54 min ± 1 h 33 min of sleep in the 48 h and 24 h prior to checking in for duty, respectively. During missions, a mean of 3 h 33 min ± 1 h 46 min of sleep was taken, usually across two in-flight sleep periods. Karolinska Sleepiness Scores (KSS) at top of climb and top of descent were typically less than 5 (‘neither alert nor sleepy’). A small number of individual higher KSS scores were recorded on the longest missions and on flights between 02:00 and 06:00. Discussion: These findings suggest that despite the long duration, timing, and multileg nature of AEMS missions, it is possible via careful design and management to operate these missions with appropriate levels of pilot alertness.

]]>http://www.clockworkresearch.com/aems-pilots-fatigue/feed0NTSB urges better fatigue briefings before flightshttp://www.clockworkresearch.com/ntsb-urges-better-fatigue-briefings-before-flights
http://www.clockworkresearch.com/ntsb-urges-better-fatigue-briefings-before-flights#commentsSat, 20 Sep 2014 12:13:55 +0000http://www.clockworkresearch.com/?p=3126In August 2013 a United Parcel Service (UPS) Airbus A300-600 cargo jet crashed into a hill less than a mile from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth (Alabama) airport, after an unstable approach, resulting in the deaths of two crew members.

The NTSB investigation report cites fatigue as a contributing factor to the mistakes which led to the crash. While preparing for the flight, the pilots were heard complaining about being tired on the cockpit voice recorder.

The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) issued 20 recommendations including urging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require crews to brief each other on fatigue before each flight and for UPS and its pilots’ union to work together to develop a better rest management system. UPS disputed the board’s findings saying “we believe these facts – and others – don’t support such a finding” and said that the pilots had adequate time to rest before the flight. The independent pilots’ union claims that UPS has a punitive system that discourages pilots to report fatigue and cited results from a recent survey which found that 91 percent of pilots disagreed that the company encourages pilots to report their fatigue.

Pre-flight briefing and a non-punitive culture for reporting fatigue are recognised as effective countermeasures for fatigue and are used by many airlines as part of a fatigue risk management system. The FAA is understood to be considering the NTSB recommendations

Clockwork Principal Researcher, Dr Katharina Lederle, delivered two sessions for the National Fleet Driver Trainers’ Conference and the Blue Light Users’ conference, organised by AIRSO (Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers). Established in 2011, this annual event is designed to bring together those who are engaged in training beyond that of licence acquisition and also to provide a platform for those looking to develop their business into other areas of driver training.

Dr Lederle’s first presentation described how to deliver an engaging fatigue training programme. Drawing on examples of training programmes created by Clockwork, Dr Lederle demonstrated the use of video footage and interactive examples as a way to communicate the principles of effective fatigue risk management to a workforce.

Dr Lederle also ran an interactive workshop, during which delegates were invited to identify the warning signs of fatigue and to rank them in terms of severity, as a way to raise students’ awareness of early warning signs and the sequence in which these appear.

More details of these events and Dr Lederle’s presentation can be found here

]]>http://www.clockworkresearch.com/clockwork-present-at-national-fleet-driver-trainers-conference/feed0Seven common mistakes made when implementing FRMS…and how to avoid themhttp://www.clockworkresearch.com/7-common-mistakes-made-when-implementing-frms-and-how-to-avoid-them
http://www.clockworkresearch.com/7-common-mistakes-made-when-implementing-frms-and-how-to-avoid-them#commentsWed, 21 May 2014 17:05:15 +0000http://www.clockworkresearch.com/?p=3011Based on our experience of helping clients to implement Fatigue Risk Management Systems, Clockwork has produced a short presentation highlighting some of the common mistakes companies make when first introducing FRMS or Fatigue Management Plans. The presentation can be found here
]]>http://www.clockworkresearch.com/7-common-mistakes-made-when-implementing-frms-and-how-to-avoid-them/feed0Energy Institute publish Clockwork guidance on implementing a Fatigue Risk Management Planhttp://www.clockworkresearch.com/energy-institute-publish-clockwork-guidance-on-implementing-a-fatigue-risk-management-plan
http://www.clockworkresearch.com/energy-institute-publish-clockwork-guidance-on-implementing-a-fatigue-risk-management-plan#commentsSun, 20 Apr 2014 09:14:17 +0000http://www.clockworkresearch.com/?p=291320th April, 2014

The Energy Institute, the professional body representing the energy industry, has released a major new guidance manual on fatigue risk management, written by Clockwork Research.

The new publication, Managing fatigue using a fatigue risk management plan (FRMP), supersedes previous EI work on fatigue and recommends managing fatigue as part of a safety management system (SMS, in the same way other aspects of health, safety, environment and productivity are managed.

Consisting of two parts, the publication:

Provides a source of reference for site-level managers directly responsible for managing fatigue;

Defines and describes the elements of an FRMP that complies with industry good practice; and

Provides managers with practical step-by-step guidance on how to build, implement and maintain an FRMP.

Despite its origins, the publication is relevant for all major hazard industries, including onshore and offshore operations. Organisations in the early stages of implementing an FRMP will find the publication particularly useful, whilst those with an FRMP in place should also benefit as a means to compare their existing FRMP against good practice.

The workshop provided regulatory authorities with an overview of the new EASA requirements for fatigue management and flight time limitations (FTL).

Clockwork’s Research Director, Dr Alexandra Holmes, was invited to present at the workshop on the scientific concept of fatigue management. Alex described how sleep, wakefulness and circadian rhythms interact to determine our alertness levels. She also identified various fatigue hazards associated with the aviation industry, such as early duty start times, high workload duties and commuting, and explained how these factors can increase the likelihood of elevated fatigue levels in the cockpit.

In her conclusion Alex summarised why flight time limitations in isolation cannot be relied upon to provide adequate protection for fatigue. In essence, FTL are an overly simple strategy for managing a complex risk. A more comprehensive, risk-based, management system approach, known as fatigue risk management (FRM), was proposed.

If you would like to know more about the workshop or FRM, please contact alex@clockworkresearch.com

Clockwork’s Managing Director, Dr Paul Jackson, delivered a day of training for process engineers and safety specialists, on behalf of the Institute of Chemical Engineers in Edinburgh, Scotland this week.

Dr Jackson discussed the latest developments in Fatigue Management in two sessions focusing on Human Reliability and Failure, drawing upon Clockwork’s extensive experience of managing fatigue for clients in the oil and gas, mining and aviation industries. Updating last year’s module to reflect recent regulatory changes in fatigue management, the sessions were designed to provide delegates with a thorough grounding in the subject matter, with the emphasis on developing operational solutions that take account of latest scientific developments in fatigue management.

This module forms one part of the ‘Human Factors in Health and Safety’ course, organised by the Keil Centre and the Institute of Chemical Engineers, is a 1-year development programme, which builds upon the needs identified in the process industries, namely:-

Content covering human factors in process safety, health and safety generally, with links to other aspects of business performance

A modular course design, with short residential events spread over time, also providing networking opportunities with like-minded professionals.

Consultancy skills development to help implement human factors solutions.

More information about the course can be found here
To download the full programme, click here.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) today published the final version of the new Flight Time Limitations ruling (Part OR.FTL). The new regulations place additional responsibilities on all air operators for the management of crew fatigue. In particular, operators must manage fatigue within their Safety Management System (SMS), and clearly demonstrate that they are doing so. Where operators want to have additional limits outside the standard limits, such as a “standard variation” for reduced rest (ORO.FTL.235/CS.FTL.1.235, 3(a)), they must have in place full Fatigue Risk Management (FRM) procedures, and submit a safety case to their State regulator for approval.

UK CAA Response

In response, the UK CAA has announced that all UK-based Commercial Air Transport (CAT) operators now have 2 years to transition from CAP371 to the new EASA rules. The CAA is running a series of seminars to inform operators of the requirements for transition.

Operators may now begin the process of writing their transition documents, which can be submitted to the CAA 9 months after the publication of the ruling (i.e. the 31st of October). After approval of the transition plan, and audit by the CAA, operators will be able to begin transitioning from CAP 371 to the new EASA FTL scheme from January 31st 2015. All CAT operators must complete the transition process by two years after publication (January 31st 2016).

The JAA course ‘An Introduction to Fatigue Risk Management’, developed and delivered by Clockwork Research, has been updated to reflect the new regulations. You can find more information about this course here

]]>http://www.clockworkresearch.com/easa-publish-new-ftl-regulations/feed0Clockwork at Learning & Skills Conference 2014http://www.clockworkresearch.com/ld2014
http://www.clockworkresearch.com/ld2014#commentsTue, 28 Jan 2014 09:44:25 +0000http://www.clockworkresearch.com/?p=2563In conjunction with our eLearning development partners, The Training Well, Clockwork Research will be exhibiting at the Learning and Skills Exhibition at Olympia, London on 29-30th January 2014.

Now in its 15th year, Learning and Skills is Europe’s leading showcase of workplace learning and development and delivers absolutely everything an organisation needs to dramatically enhance its learning programmes.

If you are attending the exhibition please come and say hello – we will be on stand 155.